Terrible Payment System

[Chocobits]

So the users in the FFXI thread similar to this are getting hosed with lame answers apparently. We're still awaiting an official response from SE about alternatives to Click&Bankrupt or Crysfascism.

[Eunys]

Well if more fire needed to be added to this fire, people from FFXI including some friends who still play are getting additional charges such as "International Processing Fee" and "Currency Conversion Fee". These are ranging from two to six dollars... So yeah no joke this is a giant scam company no wonder BoA and Chase warn customers to not use this service while under investigation for fraud.

Edit: Waits for the C&B employee Kailea Nagisa to make a post saying how two of the nations largest banking firms are wrong and shouldn't be listen to. The charges are real honey, C&B is a joke and SE hasn't done anything to help FFXI people with multiple added Fees or Double Billings.

[Catapult]

Change the product concerned and this add somehow becomes relevant.

[Kailea_Nagisa]

Well if more fire needed to be added to this fire, people from FFXI including some friends who still play are getting additional charges such as "International Processing Fee" and "Currency Conversion Fee". These are ranging from two to six dollars... So yeah no joke this is a giant scam company no wonder BoA and Chase warn customers to not use this service while under investigation for fraud.

Edit: Waits for the C&B employee Kailea Nagisa to make a post saying how two of the nations largest banking firms are wrong and shouldn't be listen to. The charges are real honey, C&B is a joke and SE hasn't done anything to help FFXI people with multiple added Fees or Double Billings.

if they are truly being charged these "fees" then they need to take that up with C&B and SE, and not just sit there and bitch about it. I just find it a little odd that SE would use a company that is "shady", and was my original reason for saying people where over exaggerating. As anything on the internet though... pics or it didn't happen.

If they are truly doing this and people are not turning mole hills into mountains, then SE does need to kick them to the curb, followed by a lawsuit drive by.

[Catapult]

if they are truly being charged these "fees" then they need to take that up with C&B and SE, and not just sit there and bitch about it.

Some are, but are also hitting brick walls of futility with such attempts.

[Catapult]

Ok, so the "[EU] Square Enix Account Transfer & Payment Procedures FAQ (05/08/11)" thread has been updated in the XI forum. You guys are... not going to like this. Sorry to have to quote you like this, Bayohne.

We have added a few more articles to our Square Enix Support Centre and I wanted to make sure they were posted here as well to have a greater chance of exposure.

Q: Will FFXI/XIV users paying via C&B be subject to any additional administration or credit card usage charges?

A: As a FFXI/XIV subscription takes direct payments from a user's chosen payment method, it is not necessary to store funds in the ClickandBuy account. Therefore the charges outlined below will not be applicable to anybody simply using their C&B account to pay for their FINAL FANTASY XI or XIV subscription. Should a customer wish to use their ClickandBuy account for additional services, additional fees may be incurred. For more information on these, please refer to http://clickandbuy.com/GB_en/

Users may incur various charges when utilising a C&B account. These include but are not limited to the following:
- ClickandBuy charges a 'pre-loading' fee of 3.9% of any transaction into your ClickandBuy account when using a credit card.
- There is a handling fee charged for withdrawal of funds from a ClickandBuy account of £1.85/€1.85.
- If a ClickandBuy account has been inactive for 1 year and contains funds, a maintenance fee of £1.00/€1.00 may be charged.

Please note players paying for their FINAL FANTASY XI or XIV subscription in a currency other than EUR or GBP will be subject to a foreign exchange rate of 5.9% per transaction.

Q: Do Square Enix plan to make further payment providers available to customers?

A: While we don't have specific details to share at this time, we are continuing to look for ways to improve the payment processing options. We will continue to take all the feedback we receive as we strive to make the experience as user-friendly as possible for all of our customers going forward.

Q: Why is Crysta not available in all countries?

A: Crysta is restricted to certain EU territories due to legal and financial regulations. However Crysta may become available for additional regions in the future.

Q: Why are some countries not supported by ClickandBuy?

A: Restrictions are in place for countries with whom the EU are prevented from trading with through sanctions or to those where FINAL FANTASY XI or XIV is not supported. Any problems with ClickandBuy registration in supported countries should be escalated to ClickandBuy customer services at http://clickandbuy.com/GB_en/contact.html

Q: Why is Square Enix switching from the PlayOnline billing setup to Square Enix Account billing?

A: Square Enix has opted to employ an external company for the processing of payments to offer the highest level of security to customer transactions.

Once again, the SE bigwigs seem to have entirely missed the point, particulalry on the last part - major banks are telling their customers that Click&Buy, their only available payment option to many supported regions, is a serious security risk. And yet they are still processing internally for Japanese credit cards anyway so... CONTRADICTION!

If you're outside the EU or UK, I deduce C&B will charge your account in Euro or pounds anyway (but converted from US costs) because they are not allowed to charge you a foreign currency charge as per SE's assertions. You will instead receive this currency conversion charge from your credit card issuer!

And if you're not in a "supported" region, sucks to be you. >_>

/sigh

[Tifia]

So the users in the FFXI thread similar to this are getting hosed with lame answers apparently. We're still awaiting an official response from SE about alternatives to Click&Bankrupt or Crysfascism.

From what I've been reading through the FFXI thread, BG, and the like, a lot of players are seeing multiple, unexplained charges. Some are international fees. Some are new account fees (according to ClickandBuy). Some are account cancellation fees (again according to ClickandBuy). It's just...insane.

I'm not understanding how it's more "secure" to go through a third party system then to keep everything in house. I've worked for a large online retailer in their credit/debit verification department. I know how horrible a lot of these other companies are with handling customer data. Even PayPal. Don't get me started on PayPal. Though you sign an agreement with SE, ClickandBuy, PayPal, etc. have their own set of rules that can vastly differ from SE. A lot of these companies will sell your info, including card numbers. It's happened, a lot. I'm not saying that ClickandBuy does this, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. At least if everything is with SE, they have greater control over monitoring customer data and can provide real time responses in case something should happen. Where as if it's with a third party, who knows how many weeks it would take to be notified that your account as compromised. Unless you're Sony. >.>

Not to mention, from a cost perspective it's confusing. With the POL system having been in place for years, SE has easily recouped the cost of having their own merchant verification system. While the initial cost of setting up your own in-house system to communicate directly with banks is a little pricy, it pays off over time. Why? Because you're not losing money on every sale by giving a fraction of it to a third party company whom are processing the payments for you. Something like this works for home business that want to sell things on EBay. Not for companies as large as SE. I can only see it as losing money. Unless they're trying to completely cut entire departments, but even that wouldn't make up for the money being given to ClickandBuy for their services.

It's just mind boggling. It would be nice if I could get a straight answer from their customer service department, or a manager, or someone who knows that I'm speaking their jargon. It's ok to be straight with me. I'll respect an honest answer, even if I don't agree with it, over bull. It also doesn't help that their Japanese customers are still being allowed to have a direct payment to SE option. Everyone else is getting screwed. There's no logic behind that. Whatever "security" reasons they may have, you can't exclude certain regions/groups. It's either everyone has to be on the same system, or no one.

My hope is that SE will listen and stop the insanity before the month ends. Anyone who's currently playing FFXI has until August 31st to make the move or the account will be deactivated. And if SE doesn't budge, my other hope is that those people who have said "I'm no longer playing" actually keep their word. FFXI is a hard habit to break. But if enough of us say NO to SE, if we stand united and not make the billing move and allow our accounts to be inactive, SE will have to listen. I hope those people don't flake out and end up transferring their accounts. I know I won't be. We need to stick together with our resolve. If you said NO, then don't transfer the account.

Money talks. And if enough of us follow-through with our word to stop playing, they have to listen. Sadly it's never from a customer service perspective. It's always all about money.

I just wish we had known about this payment system before 14 was released. I would have never purchased my CE of the game. Not that I'm really playing it now, but that's a different story for another time.

[Elkwood]

Time for Star Wars the old republic and Diablo III for me goodbye FFXIV, you have lost a customer today because of this payment system

[Chocobits]

I started this thread because I foresaw this.. I didn't realize mere weeks after starting it that Square-Enix would drop the bomb on us.. and a giant F-bomb it was.

Is it really easier having a lawyer continuously re-drafting your terms of service agreement to cover your ass than it is to provide actual customer service? (Customer Service to persons not just living in Japan - we're human too if you missed that memo)

[thepinksupervisor]

Time for Star Wars the old republic and Diablo III for me goodbye FFXIV, you have lost a customer today because of this payment system

Ummm you haven't paid yet so yeahhh.